THE FORMATION OF NATIONAL IDENTITY IN ARAB STATES
Keywords:
national identity, political identity, civic identity, identity politics, Arab countries, constructivism, modernization, globalization, foreign policy, international relations, Arab-Muslim discourse, language policy.Abstract
This article examines national identity formation in the Arab states of the Middle East as a dynamic political construct shaped primarily by state institutions and elite strategies. It argues that a “state-identity” logic has prevailed in the region, influenced by imperial legacies, particularly the Ottoman confessional system, and by colonial boundary-making that institutionalized competition among tribal, sectarian, and civic loyalties. The study further shows that postcolonial state-building under conditions of institutional weakness produced unstable identity regimes, while contemporary processes such as digital communication and diasporic interactions have intensified hybrid and transnational forms of belonging.
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